Rigs… Units….. Pah, who cares, just words.

An amazing experience, 3 weeks, give or take, in the saddle….. The sights must be incredible.

If you are using tools or machinery, in my opinion, as a time served furniture maker, you are much safer NOT wearing gloves.

Gloves will protect you from grazes, minor cuts and scuffs but greatly reduce your dexterity. Should your hand make contact with a blade your skin will break, a glove will snag and pull you further in…..

I have seen a guy split his hand in half on a band saw after the thread on the glove got caught in the teeth…. Completely wrecked the blade :D

Cheers for the pics guys, some cracking bikes there….

Love the Vagabond and the CDF….. That’s what I’m after I think, can’t decide between the two. My brain says CDF as it is more road orientated and I have a Swift coming for off road touring….. BUT…. My heart longs for the Vagabond, it just looks…. Right….

Reviews of both are great…. Help me make a decision!!!

And if anyone has a Vagabond or CDF in large for sale let me know, full bike or frame.

Happy Christmas all :)

I started the thread as my wife and I were talking about it yesterday…..

We both agreed we wouldn’t be without them, love em to bits and they are our ‘everything’….

It is hard work, Lily is 3 1/2 and Fynn just a year. They are very different characters, Lily serious and moody with plenty of fire…. Which I love, she will be a force. Fynn is just mental, a smiley happy wrecking ball.

We live in Croatia, have a new, very busy, business, house renovation and, of course the kids…. Sometimes it is all to much. The kids do take everything you have and it is hard to have anything of the life you used to, we are now mummy and daddy and that is, seemingly, all we do…

It is a selfish notion really, I miss my pre children life, the freedom, the sense of identity, the sleep!!!

It’s hard, but I wouldn’t ever be without them but maybe we would have changed other life plans to accommodate….

It’s all relative, personal priorities and individual circumstances…..

I couldn’t care less what I drive as long as it functions and fulfils it’s purpose (slightly knackered 98 Mercedes flat bed truck) but I do own 2 houses, several barns, outbuildings and workshops all set on 15 hectares of land….. My priority was space, room to breath and a safe and healthy environment for my family…. I had to move to Croatia to do it but that was where our wants led us….

Could have stayed in the Uk, got a crap house and a flash car…. Neither of which I would technically ‘own’…..

Happy to bring my Longitude over so you can have a look I was in Croatia briefly this September (followed by a longer stay in Slovenia) and would love to come back and explore with a bike.

September is a good time to do it, June to August is hot as hell, didn’t drop below 30 for those months this year, averaged about 36….. No good for doing anything apart from drinking cold beer…. Which they are very good at here.

I’m gonna sort some frame bags and have a look at the touring fork for the Swift and see how I get on…. It is a bike at the end of the day and will do the job well I think…. All to easy to be believe all the marketing boll***s…. I’m guilty of that as much as the rest.

Thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated, all good stuff.

Went for a Swift as couldn’t resist, they are beautiful and lovely to ride.

I’ll keep my eye out for a Longitude or Fargo to build up into a proper tourer…. I live in Croatia, it is a cracking country for touring by bike.

I really like the look of the Longitude but it is the only one that isn’t designed with drops in mind….

It seems it is Swift/Longitude vs Fargo as the first two are similar bikes…

Cheers Ton…. Am I right in thinking far less rack mounts/braze ons on the Swift? Prob go with frame bags anyway as kiddie seat would be on the back and you can get a rigid fork with rack mounts for the Swift…

The Fargo sounds better, just read a lot about poor unloaded ride quality?

I’d be buying second hand, full bike or frame only… Price not such an issue on used.

Really after experiences of ride quality and usefulness….. Don’t want to be just swayed by looks

Done…

Why?…..

So 26″ wheels and 18 gears just simply will not work anymore?

Tommy Tiernan……. pure brilliance

Haven’t got round to clearing the weeds…… :)

Magura Wotans……… lovley forks once set up right

Cos it does everything I ask of it and more……. very pretty to :)

+1

It’s bloody ace, goes up, goes down, handles perfectly…… only problem is that it’s French :) Very pretty to…

Here you go…..

Glad yesterday is over…….

Geet a Garmin Forerunner 305………. much better than cycle computers and can be had for less than £100 now

Self employed furniture maker/boat fitter……. Workshop on a farm, surrounded by fields and woods in the middle of the countryside. Have loads of big big toys/machines, money is ok but best of all I’m doing something I look forward to everyday :) :)

My lad Sam on the left hanging out with his girlfriend Button

Being cute……

Helping with the decorating….. took weeks to get the gloss off him

And two little monsters, Spot and Henry, from my old shared house

I wondered where that lump of steel had gone………

Sierra nevada’s…… Have a family Cortijo up in the mountains there, I try to get out a few times a year work and funds permitting.
Some great trails/goat paths to be found if you like exploring

Use well seasoned (kiln dried to about 9-10%) hardwood and you’ll be fine…..

Send the payment in 2 smaller parts…….seems to avoid fee’s

Rescue centres…. theres loads, just search through the websites in your local area. Better to rehome one then get from a breeder.

Been round a few rescue centres recently, if my misses wasn’t with me I’d have about 9 dogs right now……. :|

Out near my mountain shack in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas……. My favourite place in the world, for various reasons :-)

and ordered, in Urdu

Why?

if the moco unit isnt leaking try putting 10ml more in the damper. Worked for me

Worked on mine to, not that I measured the ‘extra’, just chucked it in :)

Nice dog :)

vacuum cleaner??

Yep 73mm shell……. thought that might be the problem. Got alot of square taper BB's spare now :|

Cheers for your help mate :0

Can I ask, why you'd want to?

Just much prefer the feel and ride of coils.

some time ago I tried to convert a AIR U-TURN into COIL U-TURN and it was not possible…
the lowers arent the prob…the AIR uppers are missing the groove to fix the snap-ring which holds the COIL spring base plate….so…no way…

Ahhhhh….. Boll**ks :| Guess it's a no go then

Nice one, just as I thought. Sounds easy enough, even for me.

Thanks lads

Bit harsh, I see the usual forum morons have to resort to name calling. Just to clarify I have nothing but respect for the people that died. It was a tragic waste of life. Thick enough to belive it? no but I'm open minded enough to question it and listen to other arguements which clearly makes you the narrow minded brain washed bigot…

Well said that man.

There are far too many factors that point the finger towards the American goverment (or a power higher up the chain).

In any case we are all entitled to draw our own conclusions. I myself just can't see it being an act of terrorism on the part of Bin Laden (sp??)